She reaches San Ysidro students through shared experience

When Maria Rodriguez moved to California and began teaching in San Ysidro, she felt drawn to the needs of second language-learners.

“I was appalled at the fact that there were seventh- and eighth-graders and they still didn’t know (English) and they had been in the system since first grade, and that was unacceptable to me,” she said. “I made sure to target the second language-learners, and I would make sure that they would stay after school with me for tutoring and whatever they needed. That’s where my passion began for second language-learners because, unlike them, I didn’t have the luxury of having it taught to me in Texas. It was sink or swim.”

Rodriguez, 40, is the resource teacher at Willow Elementary School in the San Ysidro School District. She was recently one of the finalists for the county’s teacher of the year award, as well as winning for her school and her district. She’s been teaching for 13 years and initially thought she’d work with high school students because she felt like she connected with them. When she and her husband began having children, she switched to elementary school.

“It’s a lot more tender loving care” with the younger kids, she said. “You have to come down to their level, understand exactly where they’re coming from. Children don’t hide their feelings, trust me. If they’re having a bad day, they’re going to let you know in different ways, and... you need to be prepared for that and trying to help them understand they still need to learn today.”

Her teaching style is energetic and inclusive. She lets her students know where she came from, that her parents don’t speak English and that she’s a first-generation Mexican-American, that she learned English because she had to. She says that when she tells her students about herself and struggles she has shared with them, it seems to remove a lot of the anxiety the students feel.

She enjoys the lifelong connections she makes with students, and learning of the impact she’s made on their lives. She said one former student told her that she was like a second mother, always encouraging and motivating. Now, that student has earned a scholarship to the University of California Santa Barbara.

“You do your job and you never think that you change lives, but we do change lives on a daily basis. And that, to me, is the biggest reward as a teacher,” she said.

Do you know of a teacher who should be in the spotlight? Contact Lisa Deaderick at (619) 293-2503, or lisa.deaderick@uniontrib.com.